GAME NOTES: The Brown Bears open up a four-game homestand on Friday night when
they host the Columbia Lions in an Ivy League matchup at the Pizzitola Sports
Center.

Since winning its first Ivy League game of the season over Cornell on Jan. 19
(67-58), Columbia slipped into a four-game losing streak only to snap out of
it with a 78-63 home win against first-place Harvard on Sunday afternoon. The
Lions are now an even 10-10 on the season, and they have kept their head above
water away from home by splitting 10 true road games.

Brown recently wrapped up a five-game road trip, and it did not fare well
during that stretch, going just 1-4. The Bears faced Penn last Saturday and
were handed a 71-48 loss to slip to 8-12 overall, and at 2-4 in the league
they are tied with Columbia and Dartmouth for last place.

Columbia holds a 67-62 all-time advantage over Brown. The teams split a pair
of meetings a season ago, with the Bears winning at home on Feb. 25, 2012,
94-78.

The Lions took control of their matchup against Harvard early on, leading by
four at the half, and they never surrendered that advantage as they pulled
ahead by as many as 20 at one point. Columbia was red-hot from the floor,
making nearly 51 percent of its total shots, including 9-of-17 from 3-point
range. Steven Frankoski shined with a career-high 27 points, shooting 9-of-12
from the field, including 5-of-7 from long range. Alex Rosenberg netted 13
points, Maodo Lo added 12, Cory Osetkowski tallied 10 points and nine points
off the bench, and Brian Barbour rounded out the balanced attack with eight
points and eight assists. Barbour, who averages 13.0 ppg and 4.8 apg, is the
only player to score in double-digits on a nightly basis, but that doesn't
mean the team isn't without depth. Amazingly enough, Grant Mullins, Mark
Cisco and Rosenberg all average 9.9 ppg, while Frankoski in on the cusp of
double figures with 9.8 ppg. As a team, Columbia scores 65.6 ppg while
allowing just 61.4 ppg for the second-best scoring margin in the league
(+4.2).

Brown has seen much better shooting days than the performance it put together
last weekend against Penn, as it made less than 30 percent of its field goal
attempts and was even worse from 3-point range (2-of-18) en route to the 23-
point setback. Matt Sullivan netted 15 points and swiped five steals for the
Bears, Sean McGonagill recorded 12 points and seven rebounds, Rafael Maia
added 10 points, and Cedric Kuakumensah made his presence felt at the
defensive end with a career-high seven blocks. McGonagill is one of the
league's most multi-faceted players. On top of scoring a team-high 14.3 ppg,
he's also tallied 4.6 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.4 spg, and 47 3-pointers. Sullivan
brings 14.0 ppg to the table, while Maia (11.1 ppg, 7.4 rpg) and Kuakumensah
(6.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 2.2 bpg) are arguably the most imposing forward duo in the
league. Brown doesn't boast much depth past its starting five, which results
in a lackluster offensive attack (61.5 ppg, .395 FG percentage).

On paper, Columbia appears to have Brown's number, but the Bears have played
well at home (5-2) and they will be eager to return to Providence after a long
absence. The game should go down to the wire, but expect Brown to use its
advantage in the frontcourt to push past the Lions.